Philadelphia Hospital Infections Lawyer
Sure, hospitals are filled with modern medication, advanced equipment, and hundreds of qualified healthcare providers that know how to administer life saving and life improving treatment that patients need. But do you know what else hospitals are filled with? Infections. A patient may enter a hospital for a routine procedure, or elective surgery, and wind up with a life-threatening case of sepsis as a result of unclean conditions, improper quarantine, etc. If you or someone you love was harmed because of a hospital’s failure to maintain a clean and sanitary environment, or because a healthcare practitioner failed to properly attend to lacerations, burns, surgical sites, or other open wounds, you may be entitled to compensation through a medical malpractice claim. A qualified Philadelphia hospital infections lawyer at The Villari Firm, PLLC can help you prove fault and establish damages.
Examples of Hospital Negligence
Whether a specific viral or bacterial illness was caused by the negligence of a doctor, nurse, PA, or other healthcare provider, the hospital should be held liable for any damages incurred due to an infection. Below are some of the most common forms of negligence when it comes to hospital infections:
- Poor sanitary conditions due to understaffing
- Overcrowded facility
- Improperly maintained HVAC system
- Ventilator contamination
- Exposed surgical sites
- Negligent management of invasive devices, such as central lines and catheters
- Overuse of antibiotics
- Failure to cover a catheter
- Contaminated food or liquids
- Negligent skin-to-skin contact
- Improper quarantine
- Failure to disinfect equipment
- Failure to wash hands
- Lack of ICU patient care, such as failure to prevent bedsores
- Failure to use personal protective equipment, such as mask, gown, cap, and gloves
- Failure to treat a patient in a timely manner
- Failure to check up on patients
- Discharging a patient too soon
Most Commonly Acquired Hospital Infections
Below are a few of the most common types of hospital acquired infections:
- Staph infections
- MRSA infections
- Central line infections
- Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP)
- Surgical site infections (SSIs)
- Skin infections
- Lower intestinal infections
- Clostridium difficile infections
- Urinary tract infections
- Catheter infections
Sepsis
While sepsis is caused by an infection, it is not a specific type of infection itself. Sepsis occurs when the body over-responds to an infection, attacking itself in the process. Sepsis can turn into septic shock, which manifests as a severe drop in blood pressure that can cause lung damage, kidney damage, liver damage, and eventually death. There are well over 1.5 million cases of sepsis every year in the United States, resulting in over a quarter million deaths, making sepsis one of the leading causes of death in our country. Many of these cases are preventable, had the underlying infection been avoided.
Contact a Philadelphia Hospital Infections Lawyer Today
Not all infections are caused by medical malpractice. In order to prove that a hospital was at fault, you must establish that the standard of care was breached. This is where a lawyer becomes absolutely necessary. The Philadelphia hospital infections lawyers at The Villari Firm are here to help you take on the hospital, big or small, that is responsible for your damages. Contact us today at 215-372-8889 for a free consultation.
